The municipality of Jaboticatubas (17,119 inhabitants in 2010; 1,114 sq. km)
is located in the Belo Horizonte Metropolitan Region, 60 km of Belo Horizonte.
The municipal territory includes 65% of the total area of the Serra do Cipó
National Park. It is made of the town of Jabuticabas proper and of the
districts of Baldim (established in 1948) and Riacho Fundo (est. in
1962).

Jaboticatubas was colonized in the 18th century by monks form the
Macaúbas monastery. The monks' property rights were confirmed in 1791 by
Queen Mary of Portugal. In 1753, the farmer Manuel Gomes da Mota built a
chapel around which a settlement quickly developed, made in 1878 the district
of Ribeirão de Jaboticatubas. The municipality of Jaboticatubas was
established by State Law No. 148 of 17 December 1938, seceding from the
municipality of Santa Luzia. The municipality is named for the jabuticaba (Myrciaria
cauliflora (Mart.) O. Berg), aka Brazilian grape tree. Native to Minas
Gerais, the tree produces grape-like fruits eaten raw or transformed into
jelly, juice or wine. The name was originally given to the river watering the
place, whose banks were crowded with jabuticabas. "Jaboticatubas" is the old
written form of the tree's name, today superseded by the shorter form "
jabuticaba".

The flag of Jaboticatubas is prescribed by Municipal Law No.
792 of 12 August 1985. The shield is in Portuguese shape, surmounted with
an eight-towered mural crown argent, representing a 2nd rank town, seat of a
county ("comarca"). The red open doors of the towers stand for cordiality,
welcome and hospitality. The nave [?] in the blue field and the fleur-de-lis
on the mural crown symbolize the patron saint of the town, Our Lady of the
Conception. The golden star represents the Town of Jaboticatubas, the red
triangle represents Minas Gerais, and the silver star represents the District
of São José de Almeida. The rising sun symbolizes renovation, activity and
field work. The three mountains partially represent the Serra do Cipó, the
Serra da Lagoa Dourada and the Serra da Contagem. At the foot of the
mountains stand three "jabuticabas" plants with fruit the namesake of the
municipality. In base a silver black-hatched wavy fess represent the rivers
and waterfalls of the region. Below, three silver black-hatched disks
represent the lakes of the region. The silver scroll placed under the shield
is inscribed with the town's name and the years "1790" (emergence of the
settlement) and "1938" (political and administrative emancipation). The
shield is flanked dexter with a banana branch, recalling that the
municipality is the main producer of banana in Minas Gerais, and sinister
with an "ipé" tree (Tabebuia sp.), characteristic of the local flora.
http://www.jaboticatubas.com.br/bandeira.htmlIvan
Sache, 5 February 2012